


Observations while Bonding

by ElReyCiervo



Category: American Dragon: Jake Long
Genre: Adorkable, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Family, Family Fluff, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Jonathan is an awesome parent, Post-Series, dragon powers in human form, father-son bonding fluff, post Hong Kong Longs, power bleed over, there need to be more fics about jonathan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-15
Updated: 2014-10-30
Packaged: 2018-02-17 11:46:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2308526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElReyCiervo/pseuds/ElReyCiervo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Since coming back from the trip to Hong Kong and learning about his family's true magical nature, Jonathan started paying closer attention to Jake. He started noticing things he had not noticed about his son before. Jonathan & Jake-father/son bonding.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Body Features

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Disclaimer: I do not own American Dragon: Jake Long.
> 
> -This story is post Hong Kong Longs. This is a Jonathan and Jake bonding fic.
> 
> -Jake is 15 years old in this story and is slightly different than from the show.

Since coming back from the trip to Hong Kong and learning about his family's true magical nature, Jonathan started paying closer attention to Jake. He had no problems spending time with his little girl. Haley always sought him out at least sometime during the day for attention—sometimes multiple times if she was telling on her brother. But, he always had trouble with his son. Jake and he were just not as close. Jake always seemed to be off with his friends or grandfather, and the times he did get to spend with Jake were awkward nervous most of the time, especially since he was 13 (Jake had told him a few months ago that his dragon powers fully awaked when he turned 13). Jonathan realized that the awkwardness and nervousness was from Jake trying to keep his secret from him. Ever since he found out that his family was a bunch of dragons, Jonathan's relationship with his son took a turn for the better; they spent _much_ more time together.

And for that, Jonathan was happy.

So since he started spending more time with his son, he started noticing things about Jake he had not noticed before. One of the main things Jonathan noticed about Jake was his body features.

Now that he paid more attention to his son, one of the most prominent features that came to his mind was Jake's eyes. Being of Chinese descent, Jake had naturally dark colored eyes like his mother and grandfather. Or at least, that's what Jonathan thought. Jonathan remembered the day when he first noticed his son's different eye color. On a lazy Saturday when he did not have to go to work and Susan had taken Haley to go shopping, Jonathan decided to spend the whole day with Jake. They mostly hung around the house, not feeling the urge to go out and do something. Unfortunately boredom kicked in, causing them to just laze on the couch…doing positively nothing.

That was when Jonathan had a brilliant idea.

He sat up straight and grinned at his son. "Hey Jake-a-rooni, I know what we can do!"

Jake looked up at his father and arched an eyebrow. Jonathan took that as an initiative to continue.

"We should have a staring contest!"

Jake's other eyebrow quirked up in surprise. "Now, why should we do that? That sounds boring and silly, dad."

"Aw, come on Jake. Sometimes doing silly things can be the most fun," Jonathan said excitedly. Jake looked at his father for a few more moments before he sat up straight and turned his body to face him. "Alright," he said as a small grin tugged at the corners of his mouth, "but you do know that I'm totally gonna' win, right?" Jonathan did not answer, but smiled as a determined look passed on his face. "We start on the count of three; one…two… _three_!" And the staring contest had begun.

That's when Jonathan got a really good look at his son's eyes.

Since the day he was born Jake always had dark brown eyes, like chocolate. It was trait that he got from his mother; Jonathan had green eyes that neither Jake nor Haley received. But, now that he was looking closely at Jake's eyes, he saw that they were not the chocolate brown he had always seen but were a bright, fiery amber color that seemed to hold their own fire within them. The pupils of his eyes were also unlike a human's normally round ones; his were slit pupils, akin to a cat or reptile. Jonathan was so surprised that he shot back off the couch and blinked repeatedly. Jake took that as his win. "Oh yeah! Told you that you couldn't beat me!"

After his little bout of victory related happiness, Jake noticed that his father was still looking at him with a wide-eyed, peculiar expression and he stood up as well. Jake's face contorted in confusion. "Uh, dad? What' cha looking at me like that for?" Jonathan seemed to get out of his stupor.

"Jake," he asked slowly, still looking a little wide-eyed, "what's with your eyes?"

Jake hand immediately flew to his eyes. "What? What's wrong with them?" He tried to feel around his eyes, as if he would find something wrong with them on the surface.

Jonathan interjected, "Jake, calm down. I was talking about your eye color and pupils. Your eyes, they're…" he trailed off, swallowing thickly. Jake's eyes widened as realization hit him. "Oh," he said as he scratched the back of his neck, "that's what you mean. Yeah, they kind of changed when my dragon powers fully emerged."

He was completely surprised, yet at the same time he was not. He was surprised at the fact that his own child's appearance had changed (who wouldn't be?); he was not surprised due to the fact that since he found out that his own children were dragons, he was expecting _something else_ weird to happen. Even so, he was still baffled by this. "H-how?" he asked, bewildered. Jake winced slightly and stuck his hands in his pockets. "I'm not really sure. I asked Gramps about it when my dragon powers fully emerged. He said that dragon traits start bleeding through once a dragon begins using his or her powers actively. It just happens. It's different for every dragon."

Jonathan was quiet for a while, absorbing this new information. It was in this silence that he noticed that his son was not looking at him but was looking at the floor, fidgeting in place. Was his son ashamed of himself? Did his reaction affect Jake that much? No, Jonathan would not have that. He bent down slightly toward Jake and put a finger under his chin, tilting it so he could see his face. "Ah, there are those handsome eyes," he said softly. "Now tell me, why are you hiding them? Why aren't you looking at me?" Jonathan was being quite serious which contrasted to his normally upbeat and peppy attitude.

Jake was clearly uncomfortable as he tried to answer. "Well…from your reaction, you were really freaked out. I thought…I-I just didn't want to freak you out more I guess, so I stopped looking at you. Then you wouldn't see my eyes." Jonathan placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "Oh, Jake, I wasn't freaked out. Sure, I was a little surprised, but I wasn't freaked out at you, son. You know how weird I can act Jake when I get surprised." Jonathan was happy that he elicited a small smile from Jake. It was very odd to see him so unsure of himself, especially with his own family.

"Now then," Jonathan chirped as he stood up with a smile and he said excitedly, "Care to tell me what else has changed, Jake-a-roo? Any cool stuff?" Jake's face split into a big grin as he outright laughed at his dad's usual quirky behavior.

"Well, my hair matches the scales on my head in my dragon form, which you've already seen," he said as he raked a hand through his green tinted spiky locks. He tugged on his ears. "My ears got all pointy. I don't mind, though." Then he held up his hands for Jonathan to see. "My nails changed, too." And indeed they had changed. Jonathan could see that in the place of blunt clear nails that would normally be on human hands were pointed claws. They were only about a centimeter or two the normal length a guy would keep his nails at and were pointed at the tips; they were black as onyx, reflecting a bit of light from the room.

"I can honestly say that I never noticed that before," Jonathan muttered.

"Yeah, but you don't go looking at people's hands all the time, dad, so I'm guessing that's okay. Plus, if you just glance over them, they look like I just painted my nails black. But don't let that fool you, they're wickedly sharp," his son grinned, showing his teeth. Jonathan did not doubt him. As Jake smiled, Jonathan saw that Jake's canines were _a lot_ longer than an average person's. _"How did I not notice all these changes in my son before?"_ he asked himself sadly. He was disappointed with himself. At least now he was making it up to Jake.

An idea suddenly came to his mind (again).

"Jake," he said suddenly.

"Yeah, dad?"

"Vampire!" he exclaimed as he pointed to his son. "You're a vampire-dragon!"

Jake spluttered, making one of the most ridiculous faces Jonathan had ever seen. "N-No I'm not! What are you talking about?"

"You have pointy teeth! Pointy teeth!" shouted Jonathan comically as he ran into the kitchen, away from Jake. Jake stood there in muted shock before he ran after his father. "Wait! Dad, get back here!"

And that's how his wife and daughter found him when they came back an hour later—chasing his son around the house holding out a clove of garlic, yelling, "Pointy teeth! Vampire, be gone!"

Jake knew he wasn't being serious; although, telling him so probably would have prevented Jake from retaliating by putting cloves of garlic in his shoes. Jonathan did not really mind (it was the pair he was throwing way anyway). He knew that he enjoyed that Saturday a lot.

And he had a feeling Jake did, too.

* * *

Written: 3/28/12; Published: 9/15/14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please drop a comment and let me know what you guys think!


	2. Behaviors: Fear

* * *

Jonathan Long was having a long day. His boss, Mr. Lockjelly, would not give him a break during his entire day, even a lunch break! On top of that, he even made him stay overtime to do work that the other people had not finished in the office. That was their job, not his! He called Susan and told him that he would be coming home late. Apparently, she was having a long day as well. She got a surprise call from her catering job saying that they needed her right away. That left Jake and Haley home by themselves. Jonathan was not worried, though. He knew his children could take care of themselves for at least an hour or two before he got home.

By the time he got to the front door of his home it was already a quarter past eleven. He took his keys from his pocket and unlocked the door, stepping inside silently. He put his brown jacket on the coat rack and briefcase leaning up against it as he closed the door. The lock clicked in place and the sound echoed in the silent home. It was quiet, as the kids were asleep. It was a school night after all, a Wednesday day.

After eating his favorite dinner consisting of spaghetti and meatballs, courtesy of Susan, he washed his dirty dish and headed to his room, looking forward to a good night's rest. On his way to his room, he paused at each of his children's doors. It was a habit he always did every night—to check on Jake and Haley. He came to Haley's room first.

" _ **No boys allowed! (Except Daddy!)"**_ was taped proudly to her door. He allowed a faint amused chuckle to escape his lips. She was going through the 'older brothers aren't cool phase' like any younger sister would.

He gingerly cracked the door open as not to make a sound and poked his head through. He smiled softly as he saw Haley curled up in a little ball in her bed, completely surrounded by large lavender and pink pillows and her fluffy oversized stuffed animals. Soft snores echoed throughout the pink room.

" _Aw, how adorable,"_ he thought. Yes, Haley would always be his little girl.

He silently stepped into her room and knelt at Haley's bed. He brushed her bangs away from her face and softly pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Goodnight, sweetheart. Sweet dreams," he whispered gently.

Jonathan closed the door and moved his way toward his son's room. Jake's door had cut-outs of skateboarders and, ironically dragons, he had printed off from his computer. Like Haley, Jake had a sign taped to his door that said in bold red sharpie, _**"No Haley's allowed!"**_ Oh, adolescence—a period of endless amusement for a parent (when it was possible). Before his hand could reach the brass door handle, he paused. He thought he heard something. He listened more closely and—yes, he was right! It was coming from Jake's room. He pressed his ear to the door; he heard low, pained whimpers and groans coming from Jake's room. Jonathan frowned.

Jake was having a nightmare.

Without hesitation Jonathan stepped into his son's room and headed straight for Jake, managing not to trip over the skateboard (he had told Jake a million times to put that in place) and random clothing and other junk that had amassed on the floor. He sat on the edge on the bed as he paused and looked at his son. Jake was body was twisting and turning, further entangling his limbs within the sheets. His skin was clammy and quite pale which was a drastic difference to his normal honey-tan skin tone. His hands were clenched so hard that his knuckles were white and his claws tore the sheets. Jonathan knew that they had dug into Jake's palms because he saw large splotches of blood on the sheets around his hands. Jake tossed his head from side to side, mumbling things too softly for Jonathan to decipher. He leaned forward to try and hear more clearly what his son was saying.

"N-no…leave…alone, Dark Dragon. D-don't touch them! No! _Stop! Please!_ "

" _Dark Dragon?"_ Jonathan thought in surprise. He knew that the Dark Dragon was gone—he had been for about two years now. He had seen it with his own eyes. He also knew that Jake knew that; he was the one that had faced him directly, after all. Was this the first time Jake was having nightmares like this, or had this happened before?

Tears started to leak out Jake's eyes and slide down his cheeks. His normally happy face was contorted in an awful expression of pain and fear. " _Please,_ just leave…them alone!" Jake was begging at this point and he sounded desperate. It broke Jonathan's heart; he never liked to see his children in pain, be it physical or mental. He knew it was definitely time to wake Jake up. He shook Jake's shoulder as carefully, yet firmly as he could. "Jake. Jake, you have to wake up, son. Jake, wake up."

Jake shot up from his bed with a strangled yell. When he saw Jonathan he quickly jumped away from him emitting a frightened yelp. With his legs entangled in the sweat dampened sheets, he fell out of bed and swiftly backed away into the wall. Jonathan could see Jake's wide amber eyes glowing faintly in the dark as he stared at Jonathan. Jonathan approached Jake slowly. "Jake?" he asked softly. He did not want to startle him more than he already had.

Jake tried to back way into the wall even more and curled into a little ball. "St-stay away from me, Dark Dragon! Leave me alone!" His breathing was fast and shallow and he was shaking slightly; Jonathan could practically feel the fear radiating off of Jake. Apparently, even though Jonathan had woken his son up, Jake was still in the throes of his nightmare—a bad one as it seemed. How was he supposed to take care of Jake without scaring him even more? Jonathan knew he had to act quickly. When he moved towards Jake, Jake actually let out an animalistic hiss as he bared his teeth at his father. Jonathan was very surprised at this; he had seen Jake and Haley do this in their dragon form when they wanted to scare off others, but he had never seen either of them do this in human form. He guessed Jake was just _that_ scared. He moved towards Jake despite his stuttered protests frightened hisses and quickly engulfed him in a tight embraced. He felt Jake stiffen before he started to struggle. "Let me go! Get a-away f-from me!" He winced as he felt Jake scratch his sides with his claws; however, it was nothing serious, though—just a few shallow scratches, like a cat. Jake was too strained and incoherent to do anything more serious than that.

He held on to his son tightly, trying to will the nightmare that was scaring Jake away. After a few more minutes, Jake finally calmed down. Jonathan waited another moment before he addressed his son. "Jake," he asked softly. "Are you alright now, son?" Jake finally seemed coherent enough to answer. "D-dad?" he asked timidly as he looked around his room. "W-what's going on? Jonathan could feel that Jake was still shaking slightly.

He pulled away from Jake slightly and used his thumb to wipe away the remainder of the tears that had managed escaped Jake's eyes. "It's alright, Jake. You just had a nightmare, is all. You're safe now, don't worry." Jake winced at the reminder of his nightmare. Silence reigned throughout the room.

"Come on. Why don't we go in the kitchen?" He pulled Jake from the floor by under his arms and out of the room; Jake was still a too little shaky to walk on his own. As he passed Haley's room, Jonathan heard that she was still asleep. _"I guess we're lucky she didn't wake up with all that commotion. Jake would be embarrassed if that happened."_ He noticed that Jake was very silent as they made their way to the kitchen. Jonathan did not like a silent Jake. Jake sat down at the kitchen table and folded his arms, putting his head on top of his arms. "I'll make some hot cocoa." Jonathan said as he started pulling the milk from the fridge. Jake silently glanced up and nodded his head, then put his head back down. Jonathan put the cocoa powder in the milk after the few minutes it took to boil the milk. As he grabbed two mugs from the cupboard, he made sure to get Jake favorite one. It was the one the he himself got Jake last Christmas; it was a deep red with a detailed golden Chinese dragon and gold Chinese characters painted on it. The characters translated to _'good fortune'_. Jonathan saw it in an antique shop and knew that Jake would like it. It turned out that he was right.

He poured the hot cocoa in each, putting a little extra in Jake's mug. He sat down at the table and handed Jake's mug to him. "Careful, it's hot," he warned. It did not have a handle, so Jake would just have to hold it in his hands. Jake sat up and took the mug from Jonathan, black claws clinking against the ceramic as he wrapped his fingers around the mug without flinching. "Thanks," he said softly. It was a tense silence as the two sat there, quietly sipping their hot cocoa. Jonathan broke the silence as he asked curiously, "How are you not burning yourself?" Jake's lips quirked slightly in amusement. "Every dragon, even in human form is slightly resistant to heat. I don't think this cup will burn me." And that was when Jake actually looked at the mug he was holding.

"You got my favorite mug," he muttered in surprise.

"Yep, thought it might cheer you a bit."

Jake did not answer. Jonathan was about to take another sip of his hot cocoa but stopped as he noticed something dark on the table under Jake's mug. He narrowed his eyes as he looked more carefully. The dark color was a dark red. _"Dark red…what could that—?"_ He let out a silent gasp as he remembered what happened to Jake's hands. He could not believe he forgot. _"That's blood!"_ He put his mug on the table with slightly more force than he intended, which made Jake look up.

"Jake, let me see your hands," Jonathan told him. Jake looked confused as he put his mug down and took his hands off it, and then looked surprised as he saw the state they were in. Jonathan was surprised as well. Jake's hands had four semi-deep scratches in his palms, looking positively ripped up. Luckily, it did not look like Jake needed stitches. Blood flowed slowly from his hands and dripped onto the table. The blood from his palms had smeared onto his mug. Jonathan could not believe he had forgotten about Jake's hands!

"Stay right there, Jake. I'll be right back," he told his son as he swiftly ran to the bathroom. He grabbed the first-aid kit and ran back into the kitchen. When he returned, he saw Jake pressing several wads of paper towels against his palms, trying to staunch the bleeding. From the few amounts of bloodied paper towels on the table, it looked like he was succeeding. Jonathan sat back down at the table. "Here, let me help you," he said. Jake let his father take his hands and started working on them. Jonathan worked in silence as he cleaned the blood from Jake's hands. Jake winced as his father put an antiseptic on his palms. "Sorry," Jonathan apologized, "that's supposed to keep them from getting infected and help them heal faster." Jake nodded silently.

"Why didn't you say anything about your hands, Jake?" Jonathan asked.

"…I didn't notice."

Jake had still barely said anything besides that since they had first come into the kitchen. Jonathan's lips twitched downward into a barely noticeable frown. Jake was always talking; he was never the silent type. Jonathan thought it was time to get his son to talk again. "So," he said as he wrapped Jake's hands in white bandages, "do you want to talk about it?" He knew that Jake knew that Jonathan was talking about his nightmare. Jake gave an uncommitted shrug, still not looking at his father. As Jonathan finished wrapping up Jake's hands, he said, "You know, talking about it really does help."

Jake was silent for a while. Jonathan was patient, though. He knew that Jake was probably mulling over his thoughts, deciding on how to start. After another few minutes of silence, Jake finally began talking. "…It was about you guys, you know," he started off softly. "You, mom, Haley, Gramps, Fu, and me—we were all back in Hong Kong, at the thousand years toast. Dark Dragon had come and confronted us-the dragons-directly." Jonathan noticed that Jake had started to unconsciously scratch at the table, leaving very visible marks on the surface. Jonathan would tell him that _after_ he finished talking, though. "The Dark Dragon…he," Jake visibly started to have trouble explaining this to Jonathan. "he killed off all the dragons! Councilors Kulde, Andam, Omina, and Kukulkhan and Sun Park a-and all the other dragons. All of the dragons except…me."

He took a deep breath and continued on. "He…he k-killed all of you," Jake's voiced cracked, and Jonathans eyes widened. He did not expect to hear that. "He killed all of you and then he came after me! I tried to save you guys, I really did…" Jake trailed off. He began scratching the table again. "Heh, listen to me," he scoffed bitterly. "I sound pathetic, crying over a stupid little dream." Jonathan put his hands over Jake's and gave them a light squeeze, both to keep him from scratching the table any further and also to comfort him. "Jake, anything that bothers you this much doesn't make you pathetic, especially if it's something as serious as what you said happened it your dream."

Jake sighed tiredly, running his bandaged hands through his messy hair. "Thanks, dad."

"Not a problem, son," he smiled at Jake.

Jake finally noticed the scratches on the table. "Uh, dad, what happened to the table?" Jonathan gave a quick glance to the table before he answered. "You were kind of…eh…scratching at the table when you where talking earlier." Jake glanced at his claws and saw that there were indeed wood chips under them. "Aw, man!" He shook his head. "Anyway, sorry about the scratches and blood on the table and the bloodied mug."

"Don't worry about," Jonathan dismissed as he waved a hand flippantly. "Come on, let's get some sleep." After cleaning up the kitchen—including the blood on the table and mug—they headed to their respective rooms. Before Jonathan could step into his room, he heard Jake call him. He turned around to see a very flustered Jake who was shifting from side to side. "Yes, Jake?" Jake avoided looking at him as he raised a hand to rub his neck nervously. "Would you…uh…can you stay with me…until I fall asleep?" he asked, clearly embarrassed. Jonathan was very taken aback; the last time Jake had asked him that was when he was nine.

"Sure, son."

After tucking Jake into bed, he sat in the chair next to his bed. He started to thread his fingers through Jake's hair, an action that had always comforted Jake since he was a little kid. He would continue to do it until Jake fell asleep. "Goodnight, dad," Jake mumbled from under the covers.

"Goodnight, Jake. Sleep well," he said as he gave a comforting smile.

Jonathan continued to thread his fingers through Jake's hair until he heard an odd rumbling noise coming from Jake. He looked down at Jake, quite surprised. Jake was emitting a content noise that sounded like a cross between a growl and a purr. _"I didn't know that dragons purred."_

Jonathan knew that he raising a fifteen year old teenager was difficult. He also knew raising a fifteen year old dragon teenager was even more difficult. There were behaviors and reactions a dragon teenager did which a human teen would not do; some of which included growling and bearing teeth in a response to fear, unconsciously digging their claws into surfaces when worried or distracted, and emitting happy animalistic sounds when at peace or content (i.e. good dreams).

Yes, his children were different (especially Jake). But, they were his children.

And his children were the best there were.

* * *

 Written: 3/31/12; Published: 9/26/14


	3. Behavios: Anger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Okay, in this story, I say that Jake knows some actual fighting skills in his human form.
> 
> -Warning: There is some violence in this chapter, and like two cuss words, but they're starred out; I still thought I should warn you guys, though.

It was a warm Saturday evening. The loud noises of police sirens, shrieking lyrics emitting from car stereos and house radios, and people yelling colorful words in multitudes of different languages out of their windows flowed into the air. Thin, yet repulsive vapor escaped from cracks in the manhole covers in the streets, filling the air with an unpleasant stench (It was so unpleasant that it actually left a taste on the tongue). Bright lights—both flashing and non-flashing—from colorful neon signs and streetlights replaced the natural lights from the stars above. To any other person who lived outside New York City, a night like this would too seem repulsive to take a walk—or even be out of their house for that matter—but to Jonathan Long, the night was normal and actually pleasant.

Jonathan was two blocks away from his home when he paused. He was standing in front of an alleyway between two apartments. He knew that this particular alley actually cut through the two blocks of different apartment complexes and would lead him right in front of his house. He had stumbled across this alleyway by accident on his way from work one day when his car broke down. Sure he had used this alleyway during the day, but did he dare use it at night? New York City was mostly safe during the day. At night, however, it was the exact opposite. A street that one would walk on everyday of their life during the day could possibly mean bodily harm (or death) if that person walked it at night.

Things indeed did go bump in the night (besides the usual thieves, muggers, rapists, etc.), especially magical things. Jonathan knew that now. Vampires liked to prey on unsuspecting people, eager to make a meal of their blood. Trolls would occasionally pop up from the sewers. And, from what Jonathan heard, the rare chimera would actually come prowling into the city streets under the night's guise, ready to pounce on any unlucky person who managed to cross its path.

Jonathan would take the risk, though. He had a good feeling that no harm would come to him tonight and that he would be okay.

Unfortunately for Jonathan, Lady Luck decided that he would be one of the odd people out whom she would not visit on this particular night. Little did he know that someone had been tailing him on his walk home.

With his bag of groceries in hand, Jonathan turned the corner of the alleyway. Jonathan was getting nervous for some reason—he had every right to be. The deeper he walked in the less light there was, as if the alley swallowed any light the penetrated its way. The noise from the streets completely dissipated, leaving Jonathan completely surrounded by eerie silence. He decided to speed up his pace. That was when he felt something slam into him, hard. Whatever it was had forced him front first into the wall, making him drop his groceries and making his face press painfully against the gritty brick of the alleyway wall. He felt a knife against his neck and a voice—a male voice—breathe right next to his ear. "Gimme whateva' ya got or else."

Oh how, _how_ had he gotten himself in this situation?

* * *

_The Long family was bustling busily as they made their dinner for tonight. Everyone was helping; even Jake and Haley. Susan was making the main part of their dinner, not trusting anyone else to not burn the dinner (Jonathan would definitely burn the dinner, Haley was too young, and Susan wanted Jake to supervise over Haley). Jonathan was setting the table and Jake and Haley were busy with the salad._

" _Jonathan," Susan said, "could you run to the store real quick? You know the one—the little corner store that's run by the short Mexican lady; it's not too far from here. I forgot to pick up the milk and eggs for the cake."_

_Jonathan stopped what he was doing and turned to his wife. "Sure thing, Honey-bun!" he said with a cheerful smile. "I'll be back in a jiffy." He stepped out from the kitchen and headed towards the door, grabbing his coat from the coat rack and slipping it on. Before he left, he heard Haley say excitedly, "Hurry back, Daddy! I want cake soon."_

" _Yeah, dad," said Jake. "Don't take too long."_

_He chuckled. "Don't worry kidos. I'll hurry back!"_

_And with that he left out the door and headed to the store._

* * *

He should have left the house a little before than he had, or even a little later! Just not when he had actually left! Jonathan's breath hitched as he felt the guy press the knife closer to his neck, threatening to draw blood. "C'mon old man! Hurry it up! I want ya money!"

Jonathan put his hands up to show the guy he meant no harm. "I don't have any more money! I spent it all on the groceries I just bought, I swear!" He was telling the truth, actually. He did not grab his wallet when he left the house; all he did grab was just what he needed for the milk and eggs—just a few dollars and some change. The mugger, on the other hand, did not seem too pleased at Jonathan's answer. "Too bad I don' believe ya. Sorry pal."

He did not sound sorry at all.

Jonathan clenched his eyes shut and grit his teeth. He was actually going to die here. When Jonathan thought of how he was going to die, he always thought it would be from old age, a car accident (which were frequent in New York), or, since he found out about magic and magical creatures, even by some kind of magical incident. But no, here he was about to die by some mugger who would not find anything of value on his person once he killed him. He was going to bleed to death alone in this alleyway and his family was going to have to fend for themselves. His heart gave a painful wrench when his thoughts travelled to his family.

What would happen to them?

Would they be okay?

He started to think about his family. He thought of his beautiful wife Susan. He thought of when he first met her, their first date, their wedding, them raising the kids, and when he just saw here a while ago, making dinner. He thought of his daughter, his sweet little Haley. He thought of when she was first born, her first words, her first steps, her first day of school, him seeing her as a pink little dragon in Hong Kong, and her telling him to hurry back because she really wanted cake. Lastly, he thought of his wonderful teenage son Jake. Like Haley, he thought of when he was first born, his first steps, his first words, and his first day of school. He also thought about when Jake started using slang for the first time, when he brought him to Bring Your Child to Work Day, when he helped Jake and the other dragons at Victoria Peak in Hong Kong, and speaking to Jake for the last time a while ago.

Would they be able to live without him (as dramatic as that sounded)? Sure, Susan had a job, but would that be enough to provide for the family? She worked a lot during the day; her hours at her catering job were long and sporadic, making her on call at any point during the day. The added stress and hours of her getting another job would make her unfit to take care of the kids. Jake could mostly take care of himself, but he would also have to take care of Haley as well. Yes, Haley was a gifted child, but she was only nine! On top of that, Jake's responsibilities as the American Dragon would force him to leave at any point during the day (or night), especially now that he was older. With the kids by themselves, would social services take Jake and Haley away? He hoped not.

Unlike Lady Luck, however, Ms. Fate seemed to take a liking to Jonathan tonight. (Jonathan would never say that Fate was a b**** ever again.)

Just as he was sure his life was about to be ended, he felt the mugger be thrown off of him. Jonathan stumbled slightly but was able to spin around and see who his savior was. What he saw would surprise him until the day he died. "…Jake?" he breathed in surprise. Yes, it was indeed his son, Jake. In his state of shock, Jonathan slid against the wall and onto his butt, too stunned to stand on his feet.

Jake had actually managed to throw the mugger a good fifteen feet away, much farther than Jonathan would have ever suspected Jake could actually throw. The mugger picked himself from the ground with a slightly surprised look on his face, but the surprised look quickly changed to annoyance. "Oi, kid! Who da' hell do ya think ya are, eh? Go 'way 'fore I kill ya too!" Apparently that was the _wrong_ thing to say to Jake. Even though Jonathan was on the ground, he could clearly see Jake's eyes glowing in the dark alley.

They weren't angry.

They were absolutely furious.

They were not the warm amber color they usually were when Jake was happy, nor were they the fiery orange-yellow color when Jake was playful or determined. His eyes, right now, were a fiercely cold, hard gold. They were unrelenting and unforgiving. Jonathan had seen Jake angry before when Haley was being annoying or when Trixie or Spud stole his skateboard for a whole week as a joke; however, Jonathan had never seen Jake _this_ angry ever before. And he knew one thing for certain.

He did not want to see Jake like this again. Ever.

Jake let out a growl that rumbled through his chest and reverberated throughout the alleyway, not sounding entirely human in the slightest. "You said you were going to kill him?" Jake's voice was low and his tone was absolutely filled with unprecedented ferocity; Jonathan could tell that he was restraining himself from lunging at the guy at the very moment. The mugger visibly looked taken aback for a moment before he regained his cocky face. He gave an uncommitted shrug as he said, "Yeah, boyo. Ya know, life's tough and we all gotta make some money somehow, and 'dis is how I, eh, make mine, get it?"

And that was the last thing the guy would be saying for a long while.

With an unrestrained roar of anger, Jake hurled himself at the mugger, intent on beating the living tar out of him. Although surprised, the mugger was able to fling his knife right in Jake's direction—more specifically, his head. The knife sailed harmlessly above his head as Jake ducked. He continued running and leapt towards the wall of the alley. He popped off the wall and into a spinning kick that connected with the guy's head. The mugger's nose gave a very painful sounding crack as he stumbled backwards. As he clasped a hand to his face to try and staunch the bleeding, he said angrily, "Ya punk! Ya broke my nose! Ya gonna pay for 'dat, boyo!" The mugger dove into his pocket of his baggy sweatpants and whipped out a gun. "I was thinkin' of lettin' ya live, but now I'm gonna kill ya too!"

Jonathan's eyes widen in horror and fear—horror at the gun and fear for his son's safety. "Jake, look out!"

The mugger shot the gun, but luckily Jake was able to twist his body in such a way that the bullet missed him completely (the mugger apparently had bad aim). After pulling his body from the twist, Jake gave a ferocious swipe to the mugger's face, leaving four deep scratches that bled along with the guy's broken nose. "Ya punk! What 'da hell?" Blinded by pain, the mugger dropped the gun and Jake was able to kick it away to a safe distance. Jake had no trouble with grabbing the guy's hair tightly in his fist and bringing their faces level. He curled his lips back as he bared his teeth and growled in the mugger's face. The guy's eyes widened as he stuttered from both pain and fear, "Who-who d-da hell a-are ya?" Jake brought up his knee and slammed the guy's face into it, instantly knocking him out with the amount of force he used. "I'm that guy's son, you b******." Jonathan would scold Jake for cussing but considering the current situation, he thought he would let it slide just this once.

Immediately, Jake turned and ran toward Jonathan. "Dad! Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

Jonathan took in the sight of his son. Jake had blood dripping from his finger tips on his right hand and smudged on his right knee; it was also on his clothes. Although the mugger did not get any hits in, Jake's clothes still looked scuffed up. He did indeed look like he got into a fight. Jonathan finally stood up and smiled at his son. "Yeah, Jake. I'm fine, thanks. But how on this golly green earth did you manage to find me?" He was still utterly baffled on how his son came in time.

Jake gave a toothy smile of his own and replied, "Mom thought you were talking too long, so she told me to go look for you. I wasn't even a half a block from the house when I heard shouting. Nobody else heard it, but I did. Enhanced hearing is good after all." He looked at the spilled gallon of milk and carton of broken eggs on the floor. "What are we going to do about the milk and eggs? Do you wanna go back to the store to get some more?"

"No," Jonathan said as he started walking out of the alley. He would rather go the long way and be safe than go through that again. "I only brought a few dollars and change for the milk and eggs. I didn't bring my wallet, so I don't have enough to get more. I'm sure you're mother will understand once we explain to her what happened."

"Cool. I wanna go home. I feel like I gotta take I shower from even being in contact with that loser. Ugh, he stank to high heaven! Having a powerful nose sucks sometimes!"

Jonathan just laughed.

What did he learn today?

Do not go into alleyways at night. They are dangerous. He also learned that dragons were apparently fiercely protective of their family and would become extremely angered when they were threatened. He also learned another important thing.

Do _not_ mess with an angry dragon.

It was simple: If no one threatened Jake's family, Jake would be okay. If his family was threatened, Jake would become very angry. When Jake was very angry, he would beat the living tar out of whoever was messing with his family.

See. Simple.

* * *

Written: 4/14/12; Published: 10/30/14


End file.
